1. What does Lengua symbolize?

Lengua in Spanish diction denotes tongue. It simply symbolizes of what kind of a person you are as an
individual who speaks thoroughly of what spills in his/her mouth. There’s a quote that says, “You are
what comes out from your mouth”. It simply means that be careful with the words you say because
whatever comes out from your mouth, reflects the kind of a person you are.

2. What did the father mean by “The devil ate my words”? What happened to him that made him say
that?

The father mean by the statement “The devil ate my words” that a person who possesses a devilish
attitude had took away his dignity as an individual and his capacity to live like others. He thought it that
way the moment he laid his shoulders to the devil in exchange for some goods that would benefit his
wife but unfortunately he was tricked.

3. What does this tell us about the Philippine society? Do you think this is still true today?

In my own understandings, this story implies that the Philippine society, with all due respect to the
country, is still encountering hard times. This simply tells us that we were once slaves for the devils and
because of poverty we were ruthlessly governed by the devilish attitudes of Spaniards. We were
illiterate to the point that we were to give whatever we think we can give or what they want due to the
verging of having no choice. I ponder if it is still true today but as I can still barely see from within my
precious eyes, that until now we lack a lot of things that may, hypothetically speaking, lead to a same
case scenario. Perhaps, I can still vividly see and audibly hear news stating that Philippine country is
about to give in to Chinese nationals or in any other countries.

4. Does the little girl understand what her father means? Why do you say so?

In my stance, I would say that the little girl didn’t really understood what his father was to imply,
considering the part of the story wherein the little girl had pondered that the devil had literally digested
his father’s tongue.

5. How does the girl misinterpret her father’s words?

The little one misinterpret her father’s words by only thinking her own perspective. She didn’t even
asked his father what happened. She thought that his father had literally sold his tongue to the devil.
She thought that her father’s murmuring was just an excuse for him to look pitiful. She even thought
that, ironically, selling your tongue to the devil makes you feel at ease that’s why she also thought of
doing the same stuff but, honestly, it isn’t.

6. In the end, when she is describing Lengua, how do you think she feels? Why does she feel in this way?

In the end part of the story, the child described Lengua in a literal way. She thought that lengua is
something that someone can easily sell to a hook person. She also wanted to imply that if she were to
let somebody buy his internal parts, she would only sell them to someone worth buying them. I think
she feels this way since she didn’t want look like his father who had sold his tongue to someone not
worth of it. She thought of it as something hilarious since she as a kid doesn’t know that much about
everything.
7. Why is it necessary to talk about Spaniards, when this is a story that takes place in the Philippines?
What is their significance in the story?

Talking about Spaniards even if the story had took place in the country is a bit necessary since an
inevitable occurrence like that had actually existed in actual life and being governed by the ruthless
Spaniards was the worst nightmare for the Filipinos for them to agonize that much. It is significant in the
story since the story tackles about an undeniable fact that Spaniards were part of the Philippine history
and the plot of the story was somewhat similar to what happened back more or less a hundred year ago
and it helps the main point of this story be carried out flawlessly.

8. What does the girl wish for the end? Why does she wish for it?

The little girl wished that her tongue would also be sold and she wished that she want it to be served on
a rich man’s plate. She wished for it since she thought that selling your tongue makes you experience a
luxurious life. She thought that it’ll bring her to a heaven-life like. She thought that serving her tongue
on a rich man’s plate, would make her feel at ease.

9. What do you feel toward the little girl? What do you feel toward the father?

10. What do you think the story is about to say?

The plot of the story interprets how the Filipinos were during the Spaniards colonization. It simply
divulges us that unsustain goods led an individual to the verge of risking his/her own life. It unveils us
how poverty influences the decision of a person can make due to it. In the story, the father had gave up
his dignity and pride like laid his hands over to the feet of that ruthless person being referred to as the
devil in the story. He was a bit ashamed of what happened that make him look down over his self. He
had even loose his self-esteem to argue his own views since he, himself looks down on his self and even
the people he assumes to be the ones to comfort him in times like that.